Author Note: Greetings, dear fanfic readers! I hope you're all healthy and happy on this Wednesday. Or should I say 'Hump Day'?

I wonder where the term 'Hump Day' comes from. It's always sounded oddly perverted to me. Or maybe that's just my warped brain.

Fair warning, this will be a sad chapter and a bit of a tear-jerker, so brace yourselves. 'Shalom' is a Hebrew word more commonly used by the older generation to say 'hello' and 'goodbye'. It also means 'peace', which is part and parcel what this chapter is all about.

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or the zany characters in this hilarious show. If I did, Sinjin would've brought disco back to life many more times than just in season 1.

When it was time to say his final goodbyes, Robbie was ready.

His heart was still heavy, but having the community of Northridge rally around him in his time of need had given him all the fortitude he needed.

After the doctor had checked Robbie's pulse and heart rate, he shifted to the corner of the room in lieu of the other visitors attending to his patient.

Both Minister Eikner and a Rabbi from the neighbouring town were also in attendance to give Robbie his final religious rites.

Robbie had spent what little energy he had in his final weeks writing many a letter to his loved ones. But today, he wanted to see all of them in person to give them their personalized letters and to have a word or two with them before his time finally came.

He lamented the fact that Nana Shapiro wasn't with him now, but he tried not to mind too much. After all, they'd experienced their own tearful and heartfelt farewell the year before when he'd sat at her bedside for many hours before she had taken her last breath.

It had been a beautiful moment between them and he would take it with him, wherever he was going to next.

In uncharacteristic fashion, he began with his brother-in-law, who stood stiffly at his bedside. They hadn't been particularly close, but had shared a unique camaraderie and respect for each other which surpassed simple words.

"I'm sorry that we won't have more time together to become true brothers, Rat," Robbie began awkwardly, hardly daring to believe the earnestness of his own words. "I'll admit, I often thought you were very odd and that there were many things I would've done differently had I been in your shoes. With that said, I have never met a man with such a big heart for not only his parents and sister, but also for his nephew. Promise me you'll look out for Cat and Tug from here on out," he whispered, struggling not to cry again.

The firmness of Rat's hand on his helped him to stifle that burning emotion. Rat wasn't smiling, but the look in his eyes told Robbie that he'd taken in everything he'd said to him, and he was gratified.

"You didn't need to bother yourself with such trifles, Robert," Rat declared in an ominous tone. "I too thought you were extremely odd and had a stick up your butt. But you are a good man and anyone with eyes can see how well you loved and cared for my sister, as well as your offspring. Tug is a good lad, just like his father. I will be always there to keep an eye on him." Rat reassured his brother.

Next came Pat and Mat, who sat beside Robbie with tears shining in their eyes.

"Pat and Mat, I'm awfully sorry that I was so terrible at the Valentine apple business…" Robbie began awkwardly.

"Nonsense, Robert! You learnt so much of the business in 8 years! More than that, you never stopped asking for guidance on how to yield more bountiful harvests. That is the heart of a true farmer," Pat declared with deep sincerity, clasping his son-in-law affectionately on the shoulder as he spoke.

"You are a good boy, Robbie. Pat and I never had any regrets about choosing you to marry our Caterina. Thank you for doing your best to always make her and Tug happy." Mat added, a radiant smile playing on her cheeks.

Robbie finally saw who exactly Cat had inherited her lovely smile from.

"They are my life. Please forgive me for leaving them now…" Robbie sobbed out, feeling utterly wretched about everything.

While Pat cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away at this show of emotions from another man, Mat met Robbie's gaze head-on and she held his hand tightly.

"No more of that foolishness, son. God works in mysterious ways that we will sometimes never be able to understand, at least not in this life. And Cat and Tug will never be destitute, you can rest assured of that. The Valentines always look after each other, and you, my dear boy, are a Valentine forevermore."

Robbie squeezed Mat's hand one final time before they hugged each other tightly.

Tori approached Robbie next. Her bottom lip wobbled precariously and her eyes swam with unshed tears, but her gaze was bright and reassuring as she sat closely beside Robbie and held her hands in his.

"I always knew that Cat was sweet on you, ever since we were in school together all those years ago." She confided in him with a devilish smile on her face.

"She was?" Robbie questioned in awe.

"Of course she was! You know by now how strong-willed Cat truly is – do you honestly think she would've agreed to her parents' plan to marry her off to you if she wasn't amendable to the idea?" Tori asked, raising a questioning eyebrow in the process.

Robbie thought about it about for a moment as he recalled the day he and Cat had first sat together in the parlour downstairs nearly 8 years ago.

She hadn't seemed very nervous about their engagement. If anything, she had been far more resolved and even happy about the circumstances.

If only he'd felt the same way about her sooner, long before they'd met again in their teenaged years. He knew now that he wouldn't have wasted a single second of being in her presence.

Still, when he glanced over Tori's shoulder at his wife who was hanging a new family portrait on the wall, Robbie realized then that there was nothing he would change about him or Cat and how they'd fallen in love.

They were who they were after all, and he'd cherished every second of their time together.

"Thank you for your friendship to me, Victoria. You truly are a credit to your gender," Robbie praised, bringing her hand close to his mouth to kiss it gently.

Tori blushed ever so slightly, but remained composed when she kissed Robbie on the forehead in turn.

"In case you are terribly devastated by my absence in your life after this, I do know that Mr. Harris is a handsome gentleman who would do everything in his power to make you smile and laugh again with many a romantic ballad which he would delight in serenading you with," Robbie concluded with a smirk on his face.

He chuckled hoarsely when Tori rolled her eyes and slapped his shoulder with her most expensive handkerchief. "Oh hush now, you!" she scolded playfully, her striking cheekbones on display as she smiled brightly at him.

Andre abandoned all pretense of social etiquette and launched himself into his best friend's arms, crying hard against his skinny shoulder.

"Hush now, Andre – all is well," Robbie murmured, rubbing Andre's back soothingly, albeit awkwardly.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Andre blubbered through his tears. "Who else will haunt Sikowitz's tavern with me and drink so many pints of ale till we empty our stomachs in the fields outside?"

"There are plenty of Northridge men who can fill my shoes in that respect, Andre," Robbie remarked with a small smile on his wan face.

"Perhaps. But you will remain unmatched in all other respects, my brother," Andre declared in earnest, which made Robbie want to weep aloud again.

"I will miss you too, brother," Robbie said, clasping his friend's hand tightly in his. "Now stop being a fool and go marry Victoria Vega at once." He urged with a teasing smile.

"I would do it in a heartbeat, but her older sister Katrina –"

"May very well turn out to be an excellent ally to have in your corner," Robbie interjected. "Rat, despite his many eccentricities, has been an exemplary brother to both myself and Cat all these years. Don't be a fool like me and wait as long as I did to find and love Caterina."

"I promise I won't," Andre said to his friend with a smile on his face. "I always knew you would be happier wedding her than sitting in the marketplace with Rex," he added with amusement etched into his tone.

"And you were quite right in that respect," Robbie agreed wholeheartedly.

Beck came soon after this, but only to offer a few polite murmurs of condolences and to shake Robbie's hand very briefly before he stepped away.

Robbie didn't mind; after all, he hadn't wasted too many years being angry with Beck for once kissing his wife against her will during a garden party.

There were far more important things to consider now.

Jade approached Robbie next, the same look of disdain which she always wore for him, plastered to her pale face. Robbie gulped nervously as the raven-haired beauty loomed above him, hardly knowing what to expect from her, in both life and death.

"And now I have more reason to despise you," she began by way of greeting.

"Because I was never good enough for Caterina?"

"Because you were always good enough for Caterina. And now you are breaking her heart by abandoning her…" Jade snapped mercilessly.

And yet, Robbie knew better than to believe the animosity behind Jade's words. Especially when salty tears sprang from her crystal blue eyes and fell down her cheeks as she spoke.

"My dear Jade," Robbie murmured, not knowing where this sudden affection for his wife's closest friend had even sprung from. "I am not abandoning my wife. I am leaving her and my son in the very best care – yours."

Jade's shoulders shook with repressed grief at Robbie's words. She reached for his hand and gripped it so tightly, he worried she would actually break his fingers. She leant closer to is face, her cool breath ghosting over his wan cheeks.

"Just know that we will see each other again in the next life – if only for me to torture you some more," she whispered in his ear.

"I look forward to it," Robbie said with the utmost sincerity, shooting the terrifying woman a devilish grin.

To his delight, Jade grinned back at him.

And this time, it wasn't a grin designed to make Robbie's bones quiver and melt. It was a smile shared between comrades and dare he even think it, friends.

Robbie supposed that his looming death was as good as a time as any for Jadelyn West to finally thaw to him.

Towards the end, Mat brought Sam up to see his father.

Unlike the previous visitors, Sam clamoured onto his parents' bed and launched himself into his father's arms. Robbie hugged his son tightly and kissed his cheeks several times, if only just to savour this feeling for as long as possible.

"How are you feeling, Papa?" Sam asked timidly of his father.

"Oh, I've certainly had better days than this," Robbie said with a tired smile. "Still, I cannot complain. It is a fine day and all of the town has come to pay me a visit. What more could anyone ask for?"

"I made you this in school earlier," Sam mumbled self-consciously.

He shoved a blob of reddish-brown clay into Robbie's hands. It took a moment for Robbie to recognize the figure which his son had shaped. But the rotund belly with the distorted physical features was enough to make him roar with laughter at his son's ingenuity.

"It's the blobby banker, just like in the story you and Mama told me," Sam explained, smiling happily at his father's obvious delight with his creation.

"By Jove, it really is. You captured his essence very well, Tug," Robbie praised his son.

"Thanks, Papa. Maybe next time, you can teach me to whittle so I can make a puppet just like Rex," Sam offered, beaming widely at his father.

Robbie's heart ached mercilessly at his son's words. Cat, who was standing close by, cupped her mouth with her hand as she began crying once more.

"Samuel, Papa is very sick," Robbie began in a grave tone.

"I know," Sam said in a miserable voice. "But you will get better soon, right?" he asked, hope dancing in his eyes.

Those shining orbs were a soft shade of brown, just like Cat's.

Samuel was the living embodiment of his and Cat's love for each other; he would always be a constant reminder that good things can always happen, even when you hadn't dreamt of them before.

"I'm afraid not, Tug. I won't be around for very long, and that might make you feel strange and sad. If you ever feel that way, I want you to know that it's ok to cry."

"But, Papa, boys aren't meant to cry." Sam reminded his father with a solemn air.

"Nonsense! Of course boys can cry," Robbie declared in a gruff tone. "I cry very often, and usually because of an unkind word from Rex. Whoever tells you it's wrong to cry is a fool; how else can you let the bad feelings out of your chest and feel happy again if you don't cry? So whenever you feel like it, I give you full permission to cry your eyes out."

"Ok, Papa," Sam agreed, smiling widely at his father.

"But after you're done crying, will you promise me just one thing?"

"Anything, Papa."

"Promise me you'll dry your eyes and put on a brave face for your Mama. She's going to feel awfully sad too, and she'll need you to dry her eyes."

"But, Papa, Mama doesn't cry that often. She always smiles and laughs – does she even have any tears left in her body?" Sam asked innocently, which made Robbie chuckle in turn.

"Oh, Sammy, everyone always has some spare tears left over for a good cry when they need it. Just promise me you'll do whatever you can to keep your Mama smiling, alright? You're the man of the house now – Valentine Farm can't run without you." Robbie said, his breathing becoming hoarser as he struggled to hold back tears.

Sam began crying too and it wasn't long before the boy was sobbing loudly against Robbie's chest while his father cradled his head and hugged him tightly.

"Papa, don't go," Sam begged over and over again, his tears clogging his throat and making it hard for him to inhale and exhale without effort.

"Aww, Tug, only my body's going on a little journey now," Robbie murmured, kissing the top of his son's head affectionately. "But the rest of me will stay right here with you," he promised.

"Ok, Papa."

"I know I'm being a nuisance now, but I need one more promise from you, little man. Promise your dear dad that you'll keep practicing your Hebrew and reading your prayers every night."

"Aww, do I have to, Papa? It's so hard to say and read the words," Sam complained in an adorable way.

"I know it is. But it'll get easier the more times you say it," Robbie said with an encouraging smile. "I'll prove it to you right now – let's practice together."

Cat smiled and cried silently as she listened to father and son chant a common prayer from the Torah. While Robbie's Hebrew was seamless, Sam still struggled with his pronunciation. And yet, by the end of it, Robbie was weeping with tears of happiness.

"I know, I'm terrible," Sam muttered, mistaking the reasons for his father's tears altogether.

"Not at all, Tug. You were masterful, just like a real Rabbi. It was like music to my ears!" Robbie praised, making Cat chuckle in amusement at her husband's facetiousness.

"Papa…" Sam whined, knowing full well his father was buttering him up while Robbie ruffled his hair affectionately.

"You'll get better at whatever you want to do in life, as long as you keep practicing, son." Robbie promised more seriously.

"I promise I'll keep practicing, Papa. I'll say my prayers so loud that both you and Great-Nana Shapiro can hear me." Sam announced with sudden pride.

"Oh, that will be a treat for the old battle-axe," Robbie agreed playfully in reference to his dearly departed grandmother.

He held out his hand for Cat to come closer while Sam remained cradled against his chest. Cat moved to the other side and climbed onto the bed and laid on her side next to her husband. Robbie reached forward and thumbed away the tears that had slid from her mesmerizing eyes.

"I love you so much, my red-haired cat," Robbie declared, his voice sounding hoarse and choked up in the moment.

"I know, darling. And Tori was right before; I did love you for a lot longer than I let on," Cat answered, smirking devilishly at her husband.

"You could've told me sooner; I might've acted less foolishly and loved you a lot sooner," Robbie reminded his wife.

"Aww, but what fun would that have been? All I had to do was tell myself many an interesting tale about the man of my dreams until you finally came and swept me off my feet," Cat whispered, cupping her husband's cheek in her small hand.

"Cat," Robbie said with the utmost love in his voice. "I adore you. Even when I'm no longer here, my love will stay with you for always. Whenever you feel sad or lonely, you can always find me in your dreams."

Cat's smile slipped and she cried bitterly as she rested her head on top of Sam's, sniffing the sweet scent of her son's hair that had been freshly washed that morning.

"I will see you soon in my dreams then," she promised her husband, leaning forward and pressing her lips against his, which were beginning to get cold now. "I adore you too, Robbie Shapiro."

Robbie remained smiling right till the very end. His dark brown eyes had never held so much love and pride in them than he gazed at his wife and his son, who began crying even more. His heart ached to take away their pain, but he knew he couldn't continue at their sides anymore.

He had to go back now.

He only hoped that Cat and Sam wouldn't join him for many more decades on the other side. They both still had so much more life left in them to give to the world.

"Samuel, Cat," Robbie murmured, his breath becoming harsher and harsher as the seconds rose before him.

"Loving you both has been…my most favourite dream yet."

His last breath rattled sharply out of his lungs, dispelling what remained of his ghastly sickness. Then his dark brown eyes finally stilled and then slid into place, seeing nothing else before him. All that was left now was that eternal smile left on his wan face, assuring him that his dreams would be sweeter in the next life.

Author Note: Damn, that was hard to write.

Don't get me wrong, that wasn't the most dramatic death scene I've ever had to write. I've written way worse where the character who's dying closes their eyes and you think they're dead, but then they open their eyes again and keep talking just to draw out the readers' anguish.

Yeah, I'm mean like that.

I hope I managed to capture the Victorious characters' voices well in this tiny excerpt, even with their high-brow English. I was really pushing the Tori-Andre romance the entire story, huh? What can I say? I thought there was something there between them for years in the TV show.

It sucks that Cat and Robbie's life together got cut short. But they experienced more in 8 years as a couple than most people do in a lifetime, so I suppose that's a gift in itself.

I want an epic love story like that when I grow up...

Anyhoo...there are 4 more chapters after this to wrap up the story. And then, you will finally discover whether Robbie was dreaming or dropped into an alternate reality.

The possibilities are endless. Or just down to the options I already listed above. So...the possibilities are...two-fold?

Tootles!